Today, it's wonderful to have Suzanne Johnson return to my blog, this time with a fun guest post about one of her favorite Christmas traditions and her new paranormal romance release, Christmas in Dogtown.
Christmas Bonfires on the Levee
Suzanne Johnson
One of the greatest things fiction authors get to do is
write about favorite places and traditions, and weave them into our stories. In
my novelette “Christmas in Dogtown,” I was able to not only explore the
close-knit communities of one of Louisiana’s river parishes but talk about one
of my favorite traditions, the Christmas bonfires.
There are lots of explanations of how the tradition of
burning bonfires along the river levees on Christmas Eve got started; truth is,
no one really knows. The real story’s probably a lot more boring than the
legends.
My favorite legend is that the tradition stemmed from the
Cajuns who live in the countryside along the Mississippi River, and it’s this
legend I drew on for “Dogtown,” specifically the stories about the Cajun
version of Santa, Papa Noel.
Instead of a sleigh and reindeer (a citified concept, for
sure), Papa Noel arrives by river in the flat-bottomed boat called a pirogue,
pulled by eight alligators named Gaston, Tiboy, Pierre, Alcee, Ninette,
Suzette, Celeste and Rene (who might or might not have a shiny red snout).
Papa Noel and his leathery entourage sail down the
Mississippi River, delivering his presents to children on Christmas Eve. But
unlike in the big cities, with all their lights, the river land and bayous and
swamps are dark. What’s to make sure Papa Noel doesn’t lose his way?
That’s where the bonfires come in, of course.
So weeks before Christmas Eve arrives, local families and
businesses stake out their claim on the big earthen levees along the river in
St. James, St. Charles, and St. John the Baptist parishes (what the rest of the
U.S. calls counties). On both sides of the river, they build big teepee-shaped
wooden structures filled with kindling, boxes, or paper—whatever will burn. At
the appointed time on Christmas Eve, everyone lights their bonfires and Papa
Noel and his gators have a path lit all along the river with beautiful flaming
tree-shaped bonfires.
It has become quite a tourist attraction now, of course, and
people like me drive out from New Orleans or Baton Rouge or points beyond to
line up along the Great River Road and see the sights. There’s also an annual
Festival of the Bonfires held a couple of weeks before (because in Louisiana,
we can turn ANYTHING into a party).
In “Christmas in Dogtown,” Teresa Madere is forced by
circumstances to return to her small hometown community in St. James Parish for
the month of December, and she ends up helping build the Madere family
bonfire…and maybe learning a lot of about love and family and home than she
ever expected. And yeah, there might be a paranormal element as well!
What’s your favorite winter holiday tradition? One commenter
will win a copy of the awesome Cajun
Night Before Christmas, with Papa Noel and his eight gators featured in
illustrations by James Rice. Sure, it would also make a good gift for a
book-loving child!
Christmas in Dogtown
Suzanne Johnson
Genre: Sweet Paranormal
Romance
Publisher: Story
Vault
Date of
Publication: December 2012
ASIN: B009RBKTSG
Number of pages: 30
Word Count: approx.
11,000
Book Description:
A woman who spent years escaping her rural past learns that
Dogtown, Louisiana, hides more family secrets than just the recipe for boudin
blanc…..
Resa Madere’s on the verge of losing it all. The
boyfriend’s gone. The job’s history. Her beloved house is on the brink of
foreclosure. She’ll do anything to save it—even spend a long Christmas holiday
working in St. James Parish, Louisiana, helping her uncle run the family meat
business. But the community of Dogtown, which has been home for seven generations
of the Madere and Caillou families, has deep roots and deeper secrets. For
Resa, going home is one thing.
Getting out might not be so easy.
Short Excerpt:
“You are stupid,”
Resa told her reflection in the tiny, scratched mirror of the White Castle’s
rose-pink bathroom. “Stupid, ridiculous, and absurd.”
She’d been wrestling with her curly
black hair for a half hour, and the brown eyes that stared back at her from
beneath freshly plucked brows and carefully applied eyeliner looked more jittery
than sexy. “And idiotic.”
First, it had been almost a week since
Chan had asked her to the Saturday night community dance, popping the question
almost shyly as they hacked at the bodies of gigantic dead fish. They’d both
been covered in blood and smelled like they’d been rolling in bait, which
should have tipped her off that anything in Dogtown reeking of romance, well,
reeked.
Second, her potential date had left
immediately after asking her out so he could catch an alligator that had eaten
somebody’s poodle in one of those backwater houses near the swamp. He burned
rubber out of the Madere’s driveway after making sure he had enough duct tape
to wrap around the gator’s jaws. Adequate duct tape was not an attribute she’d
ever sought in a man.
About the Author:
Suzanne Johnson writes urban fantasy and
paranormal romance (under the name Susannah Sandlin) from Auburn, Alabama, on
top of a career in educational publishing that has thus far spanned five states
and six universities—including both Alabama and Auburn, which makes her
bilingual. She grew up in Winfield, Alabama, halfway between the Bear Bryant
Museum and Elvis' birthplace, but was also a longtime resident of New Orleans,
so she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC
football, cheap Mardi Gras trinkets, and fried gator on a stick. She’s the
author of the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series and, as Susannah
Sandlin, the Penton Legacy paranormal romance series.
Website: www.suzanne-johnson.com
*~*~*
8 comments:
Christmas in Dogtown is a wonderful read. Suzanne really teaches us a lot about southern traditions in her writing. Thanks for your post Marsha.
I like tree lightings.
Thanks for stopping by, guys, and thanks to Marsha for hosting me today! The sight of all those fires burning alongside the river for miles is pretty amazing!
What a wonderful tradition! I'd love to see that. So glad to have you as my guest today, Suzanne.
Suzanne really knows how to make you want to visit Luisiana^^
i loved Christmas in dogtown ALOT
now a winter tradition....in my country we have Saint Nicolas who comes for the children on the 6th december he is giving good child a gift ( in teh past it was a "clementine") with him is "pere fouettard" who give bad children a piece of coal..... now since Saint Nicolas has it's time we must wait after the 6th to put our christmas tree and in my family we have the tradition that while decorating it we share memories of those not with us anymore and the ornaments they left us...so they stay with us in a way and we don't forget
I loved the story of Pap Noel and his alligators! Never heard it before. What a great tradition with the bonfires on th levee. In our house, we celebrate St. Nicholas Day which is December 6th. You out your shoe by the door the night before, and St. Nicholas leaves you a small treat like chocolate and a book.
South Louisiana traditions are awesome and the bonfires are cool. Thanks for sharing them with everyone. Can't wait to read Christmas in Dogtown. Wishing everyone a wonderful and magical holiday season.
Nice traditions
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